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‘The students fully enjoyed taking part in the project. I think they were engaged because it gave them a chance to use their own language in school and show their talents to their peers. ‘

‘We have over 50% of students for whom English is not their mother tongue so they felt proud being able to write in it. Also, students who are learning a foreign language were able to see that writing in this language is not as hard as it seems.’

‘The children enjoyed the freedom of being able to write a poem about any subject of their choice. For those whose mother tongue is not English, it is an activity which makes them value their mother tongue and gives us teachers the opportunity to show that we value their ability to speak a language other than the ones taught in school.’

‘This was a good chance for students to be creative and have free rein over what they choose to write about. It really appealed to a range of students.’

‘They loved the idea of entering a competition, and all the children really engaged with the task. It was wonderful to see! I think it was the freedom and creativity that they enjoyed and it certainly was a great learning experience for me too. ‘

‘The students were able to see how important languages are and could be in their future.’

‘I think it made them realise that the language is not simply a subject you study on a Tuesday afternoon, but it can be a tool to express yourself and be creative, much in the same way that English is.’

‘I am working in a class where all the students speak English as an additional language so this was incredibly beneficial for me. I was able to incorporate it into the literacy curriculum through poetry.’

‘Poetry is already incorporated into our curriculum but a competition like this adds another dimension as it enables those who speak other languages than the ones we teach to enter in their mother tongue.’

‘It highlighted to me the importance of creative activities. A poem doesn’t have to be complicated, they can follow a quite simple structure but still manipulate language effectively. They can be quite inventive, even with little vocabulary… and a dictionary! I will be building more creative work into our new curriculum.’